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New Tata Manza Club Class Road Test Review

The Tata Manza Club Class is the latest launch from the house of TATA Motors at the Auto Expo 2014, which draws inspiration from Manza Hybrid for its aggressive looking front fascia along with new air dams in triangle shape with headlights and bumper. This car that is available in both petrol and diesel variant with powerful XETA engine under its hood would find the place in between the Indigo eCs and Manza sedan.

Tata Manza Club Class Spacious Sedan With An Aggressive Look

Tata Motors has recently introduced the Tata Manza Club Class, a top class segment that has simply made car enthusiasts to express their surprise on having a look at this vehicle. It is regarded to be Indigo’s second generation, however, is completely different and has new shades. It is much more prevailing, contemporary and stylish, when compared to previous versions. The company had very recently titivated the Manza, tagging it with Club Class label. Result is revision made in the product for giving it a feel and look of much more sophistication than before. The new Manza has been positioned in between the mid-sized Indigo eCs and Manza sedan. Overall, it is a stylish sedan that is available in few trim levels, giving the car buyers a variety to select from. Furthermore, it is compliant with the stringent BS4 norms, which makes it worth the purchase. Also, the sedan has been loaded with plenty of safety aspects to offer optimum protection to the passengers and vehicles. Moreover, vibrant exterior paint choices are provided for the car buyers to select. The manufacturer has been offering the vehicle with basic warranty of 75,000 kms or 24 months, whichever being earlier. The period can be extended further to around 2 years by bearing additional cost.

Can this latest Tata Manza Club Class be a feather on Tata’s cap? Let’s take a closer look…

Outside Impression

The exterior of the new Tata Manza series is simply superb, a commendable job done by the manufacturer. The vehicle boasts of having stylish body design, accompanied by numerous striking aspects. Front fascia has bold radiator grille having four slats that are positioned horizontally. The car is treated with huge amount of chrome and possesses the company’s insignia prominently that is engraved in the center neatly. The grille has been flanked by bright headlight cluster, integrated with motorized, high intensity clear-lens headlights. Top variants are provided with follow-me home headlamps to add immense convenience and comfort to the passengers. Wide windscreen present in Tata Manza Club Class offers the driver with a better view and is provided with 7 speed intermittent wipers having smart wipe function. Bumpers are body colored and have run rails along with chrome inserts to give added protection especially from minor scratches. Furthermore, it includes wide air dam, thereby providing better air intake and couple of fog lamps. Side profile is body colored outside door handle and rear view mirror. The mid and base range variants have been equipped with steel wheel sets having full wheel covers. The GEX and EX variants are provided with alloy wheels that give out a stylish appearance. The rear end is decent looking and includes large windshield accompanied by demister. The boot lid is expressive and has chrome strip present with emblem of the company engraved on it. Also, rear bumper has body color paint and provided with bright fog lamps. Besides all these, the vehicle has unique contrast roof, which is mounted with antenna to assist clear radio signal reception.

Five passengers can be accommodated into this vehicle comfortably. The overall length of the car is 4413mm, 1703mm of width including external rear-view mirrors, 1550mm of height and large wheelbase of 2520mm. Petrol variant has kerb weight of about 1100 – 1125 kgs. The diesel variant’s kerb weight ranges around 1200 and 1210 kgs. The boot compartment is of 460 liters and has fuel tank that is centrally mounted having capacity of 44 liters. The different color options of the car are Dew White, Jet Silver, Infinity Black, Laser Red and Tyrian Wine.

Cabin Pretentions

Tata Manza Club Class can be termed to be a stunning sedan that has been bestowed with plenty of sophisticated and the most advanced interior aspects. Cabin is very much roomy and has 2+3 seater arrangement. Moreover, Tata Manza Club Class also has well cushioned, wide seats that are covered with fabric, premium upholstery. The mid and base range variants have interiors, which are elegantly done up with beige and black color scheme. The high end variants have been provided with plum and black color scheme. Enough leg room space has been provided along with shoulder and head space. Door handles and gear shift knob is garnished with chrome, giving a rich appearance to the interiors. Dashboard is done neatly with two toned color schemes, while housing steering wheel, central console and stylish instrument cluster. Also, it has a big glove box compartment along with pen and card holder. The steering wheel is tilt adjustable and mounted with high quality audio controls. Instrument panel has been provided with several notifications to alert the driver as and when required. It includes seat belt reminder of the driver, door open warning lamp, headlamp-on indicator, tachometer and key-in reminder. Apart from this, there are also several utility based factors present such as storage tray right under front co-passenger seat for keeping few things, storage pockets in rear and front doors, bottle holder on the front console, anti glare interior rear-view mirror. The cabin also has sun visor along with vanity mirror present on the side of the co-passenger and power outlet to charge electronic devices.

The new Tata Manza Club Class is undoubtedly of top class and has exciting comfort features. Besides the base variant, the other trims are integrated with advanced 2 DIN audio system, incorporated with MP3/CD player, USB interface, radio with FM/AM tuner, Aux-in port, four speakers with audio equalizer and playback and infrared remote control. Moreover, the top end variant has touchscreen display, satellite navigation system and Blue5 technology. Besides this, it has multi-functional steering wheel that has been mounted with call control and audio function. Advanced instrument panel has been equipped with the latest functions such as ambient temperature indicator, digital clock, fuel consumption display along with other notifications and warning features. The GLS/LS and GLX/LX variants have been provided manual HVAC unit. The other variants are provided with automatic AC having climate control. Apart from this, the top end trim is incorporated with 4 power windows and driver side automatic down function, driver seating being 2 way adjustable having lumbar support, adjustable front-head restraint, anti-glare interior rear-view mirror.

The interior section of the Tata Manza Club Class vehicle has been provided with optimum space to offer maximum comfort to the occupants. It does have ample leg room space due to the presence of huge wheelbase. The big boot space is good enough to store plenty of luggage. In short, Tata Manza’s interior space is just brilliant, similar to any other vehicle from the Tata brand and also the material quality is excellent.

Heart Of The Matter

Tata Manza Club Class is considered to be a top class sedan in its segment that is available in diesel and petrol variants. Diesel variant has been provided with 1.3 liter motor, having capability to displace about 1248cc. Moreover, this engine has been integrated with 16 valves and 4 cylinders using DOHC type fuel supply stems. The vehicle can produce 88.8bhp of peak power output at 4000 RPM when coupled with 200Nm of maximum torque, between 1750 – 3000 RPM, which is just good enough. Also it has been mated skillfully with manual transmission 5 speed gear box. The engine of this Tata Manza Club Class is compliant with the stringent BSIV norms. The petrol variants have been powered with 1.4 liter engine having 4 cylinders and incorporated with multi-point fuel injection system that assists in delivering decent fuel economy. It can generate power output of 88.8bhp at 6000 RPM, with 116Nm of peak torque at 4750 RPM, good enough for Indian traffic conditions and roads. Besides this, it has been paired cleverly with 5 speed efficient manual transmission gear-box that sends engine power to the front wheels. Revised gear ratios do make things quite easier and the manufacturers have done a commendable job with Tata Manza Club Class.

The petrol variant crosses the 100kmph mark in just 17 – 18 seconds, while achieving top speed of 170 – 175 kmph. Diesel engine crosses the 100kmph mark in about 18 seconds and attains optimum speed between 165 and 170 kmph that is decent. Power produced by both diesel and petrol variant is excellent for the Indian roads and for regular city commute. Quadrajet diesel engine has been certified by ARAI making this variant the best to bet on and returns 18.6 kmpl on city roads and 21.12 kmpl on highways. The petrol variant generates maximum mileage of 10.3 kmpl on city roads and 13.7 kmpl on the highways. Fuel economy is good and multijet engine is known for its frugal nature. Power that is produced by the Tata Manza is quite decent on paper, but its torque is improved to provide better spread and the diesel variant does not have turbo lag.

Road Manners

Tata Manza Club Class has been blessed with independent vacuum assisted dual circuit braking technology which is diagonally split by providing hydraulic brakes via tandem master cylinder. Front wheels have been fitted with ventilated disc brake sets and the rear wheels have conventional drum brakes. The top end variant’s braking system has been improved with the ABS and electronic brake-force distribution. The front axle is congregated with lower wishbone, with McPherson strut, which also possesses a coil spring. The rear axle on the other hand has been equipped with semi-independent twist beam having similar coil spring and accompanied by shock absorbers of hydraulic type. It has a power steering system with tilt adjustable function and based on Pinion and rack type. Minimum of 5.1 meters of turning radius is supported. Overall handling of the vehicle is wonderful and its tweaked suspension boasts of having lesser body roll, which means more excitement for the passengers during the ride. Furthermore, the ride is quite sorted and no ‘bouncy’ feeling is present.

This Tata Manza Club Class sedan has been integrated with numerous safety aspects, the list of which includes standard features like collapsible steering column, rear doors having child safety locks, high mounted LED stop lamp, central locking system, keyless remote controlled entry, advanced engine immobilizer that protect the vehicle from being stolen. Rigid body structure does boast of having side impact beams to enhance safety of the passengers. There are seat belts present for all the passengers, be it the front or the rear. The front seat belts have load limiters and pretensioner. Besides this, it has driver seat-belt reminder notification display on the instrument panel. GVX/VX and GEX/EX variants have been equipped with electronic brake-force distribution and anti-lock braking system. Airbags has been provided in the top end variants for front co-passenger and driver to ensure addition safety if there is any unfortunate collision involved. Besides these, the vehicle has warning buzzer present on the driver side door with headlamps and key-in on notification. All advanced and crucial features which are placed together tend to make Tata Manza Club Class the safest car in the Indian automobile market.

The car has been equipped with robust 15” steel wheel set having full wheel covers. The top end variant has elegant 8 split spoke, 15” light alloy wheels. Rims have been covered with tubeless radial tyres of 185/60/R15 size to provide superior grip that is required exclusively for the Indian road conditions. The manufacturer has provided spare wheel of full size, which is affixed to the vehicle’s boot compartment with other tools that are needed to change if there is a flat tyre.

Overall Verdict

Tata Manza Club Class makes a wonderful vehicle for a car of its segment. The plastic and build quality, the finish and fit, the pricing and features for which this vehicle comes can be termed to be something worth of the purchase. The ex-showroom Delhi price of Club-Class Quadrajet-90 EX is Rs. 8,31,023; Club Class Safire-90 EX is Rs. 7,35,924; Club Class Quadrajet-90 VX is Rs. 7,35,772; Club Class Quadrajet-90 LX is Rs. 6,71,215; Club Class Safire-90VX is Rs. 6,40,536; Club Class Safire-90 LX is Rs. 6,01,654; Club Class Diesel is Rs. 5,97,098 and Club Class Petrol being Rs. Rs. 5,78,453.

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